Ford inaugurated an engine plant for the Ranger pickup

Ford inaugurated an engine plant for the Ranger pickup

The automotive ford carried out a complete remodeling of the Pacheco Plant for the launch of the new Ranger in Argentina and the region.

Now, with the inauguration of the new engine plant within the industrial complex, the production of its drivers is nationalized.

Vertical integration allows us to continue advancing in the quality of the medium-sized pick-up that came to redefine the segment and raise the standard of the category.

The new plant will produce, on the same line, the two modern turbodiesel engines: the Lion 3.0L V6, with 250 HP and 600 Nm of torque, and the four-cylinder 2.0L Panther, with 170 HP and 405 Nm of torque, recognized for its solidity and fuel economy.

The engine plant follows the 4.0 manufacturing concept already adopted in other areas of the factory, with a high level of technology, automation, connectivity and sustainability. The extensive use of digitalization and intelligent process control helps ensure maximum quality and efficiency in production.

“The continuous improvement of our products and our competitiveness is key to Ford’s business in the region. Since its launch, the New Ranger has improved in all indicators. “Quality is a great differential of the product, which directly impacts the satisfaction of our customers,” he stated. Martin Galdeanopresident of Ford Argentina and South America.

According to the executive, despite the fact that it is a vehicle with 95% new parts, the current Ranger has already started production with the same level of quality as the previous generation, a platform that has been improved over more than 10 years. years of continuous improvement.

“This is unprecedented and, with the nationalization of engine production, we take another step in this process of constant improvement,” Galdeano highlighted.

Ranger customer satisfaction has increased by more than 20% since the arrival of the new generation. If compared to other Ford plants in the world, the Pacheco Plant stands out in terms of quality, with an index 28% better than the global average of repairs per thousand vehicles produced.

This evolution also helps explain the commercial success of the pick-up, which in addition to winning the industry’s main recognitions, doubled its sales volume in South America.

“In Argentina and Brazil, the Ranger was the truck that grew the most in sales volume during 2023, with an increase of 84% and 42.5%, respectively. This year, until May, Ranger continues to grow in market share, reaching 30%,” says Sebastián Trotta, director of Sales and Marketing at Ford Argentina.

The new engine factory at the Pacheco Plant has an installed capacity to produce 82,000 engines/year in two shifts and was developed with the active participation of the engineering teams from Argentina and Brazil. Its intelligent quality management system uses more than 2,000 sensors and 50 cameras to monitor motors and components throughout the process.

“In addition to robots in critical operations, we use artificial intelligence and machine learning systems to guarantee extremely high precision, capable of detecting variations of 0.004% in the process,” says Kleber Fernandes, Quality Director of Ford South America. “The entire operation is carried out in a sustainable way, using 100% renewable energy and zero waste generation to landfill.”

All 129 workstations feature automatic task control, including an intelligent screw adjustment system. They were also designed to optimize ergonomics and comfort for operators, who have received more than 5,000 hours of training. The positive pressure environment and intelligent air conditioning and LED lighting systems contribute to well-being and productivity.

Ford invested $660 million in the Pacheco plant to produce the New Ranger and increased installed capacity by 70%, to 110,000 vehicles per year. This transformation included the installation of a line of high-speed presses, and 318 new intelligent automatic welding robots in the bodywork area. The paint plant introduced “high solids” technology.

The assembly lines were also equipped with automatic torque tool control, 3D scanning for dimensional control and more than 1,000 cameras and sensors, monitored in real time by artificial intelligence to ensure the truck’s superior execution standard.

Source: Ambito

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